The news is obviously a disappointment to fans as City is clearly not the same team without Silva's masterful passing keying the offensive, but the loss of Silva should not have an affect on the outcome against West Brom.

The fact of the matter is that City boasts one of the deepest rosters in the Premier League. Even without a talented player like Silva, City can put forth a lineup that would contend for silverware. Without Silva, City still has talented players that can step up in his absence.

There are plenty of talented midfielders and forwards on the roster that are capable of generating offense while Silva recovers from injury. Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez are both enjoying successful seasons and should be able to put enough pressure on the West Brom defense to score without the assistance of Silva orchestrating the attack.

The Baggies are an impressive 4-0 at The Hawthorns in EPL play this season, but City has been equally impressive when playing away from home this season. Something has to give when these two meet on the pitch.

While the loss of Silva definitely hurts, it's important to keep in mind that City's defense could wind up being the key to this game. Goalie Joe Hart has traditionally dominated the Baggies and it should be expected that he can continue that trend.

West Brom has played admirably this season, but it'll take a lot more than the absence of one player for them to pull off the upset against one of the truly elite teams in the Premier League.